Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Rich Before God
Liturgical Cycle: C | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
Abraham was saved because he believed God and trusted him. Likewise, we will be saved because we believe, and the core of our faith is that Jesus was handed over to death because of our sins and was raised from the dead for our justification or salvation.
When Jesus speaks out against the rich, he does not intend to condemn them but to liberate them. What he denounces is not the fact that they have material goods, but their own attachment to them and the use they make of their riches: for hoarding, for selfish enjoyment, or – as some rich countries do – stockpiling wheat in silos or using oil for economic and political pressure. The value of possessions is relative to the goods of the kingdom, to justice and love. What counts is to be rich and wise before God.
Opening Prayer
Good and merciful God,
we often seek safety and security
in things to possess and to hold on to.
Do not allow things
to possess and control us.
When our riches mean poverty for others,
when our life means death for others,
teach us the joy of sharing
and give us the courage
to seek first the riches of your kingdom
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus:
“Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.”
He replied:
“My friend, who has appointed me as your judge or your attorney?”
Then Jesus said to the people:
“Be on your guard and avoid all kinds of greed, for even if you possess many things, they are not what give you life.”
And Jesus continued:
“There was a rich man, and his land produced a good harvest.
He thought, ‘What shall I do, for I am short of room to store my harvest?
Alright, I know what I shall do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones to store all this grain, which is my wealth.
Then I will say to myself: My friend, you have many good things stored up for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.’
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night, your life will be taken from you. Tell me, who will get what you have prepared?’
This is the fate of the one who stores up riches for himself and is not rich in the eyes of God.
Prayers of the Faithful
– For a poor and open Church, in which the People of God try to have open hands and hearts for all, we pray:
– For those who are rich and powerful, that they may learn to share; for the poor, the humble and the exploited, that they may find help and keep hoping, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may learn to enjoy the good things of life, especially friendship and affection, unity and compassion, people who inspire us, and even love of enemies, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in this eucharistic celebration
you set for us the table of Jesus
and you let us share in the riches
of your grace and gratuitous love.
Give us eyes of faith to see
that this is an open invitation
to let others share in our abundance
and at times even in our poverty.
Help us to become selfless and generous
together with him who gives himself,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you have enriched us with your Son.
Keep liberating us
from unreliable attachments
to things that are unimportant.
Give us rich hearts
that are neither possessed nor possessive
but that are free to love and to give
by the power of Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Blessing
“One’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions,” is Jesus’ word to us today. It is not to have an abundance of goods that will bring us happiness, but the goods of the kingdom of God, to be good and wise and just. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTION
20 October 2025
Luke 12:13-21
In today’s Gospel, a man requests Jesus to resolve a dispute over inheritance. While it was usual in Palestine to bring these issues before a rabbi, Jesus chooses not to get involved in disputes over money. Instead, he uses the situation to teach us a lesson: the risks of greed and the real value of wealth.
Jesus tells the parable of the Rich Fool. He had riches, but he was not rich in God’s eyes. This parable teaches us three lessons.
First, share. Poverty is not about having little, but about refusing to give. A person who keeps everything for himself grows poor in heart. True wealth is found in sharing—our resources, our knowledge, even our time. A word of encouragement, a listening ear, a small act of kindness can enrich another’s life and our own.
Second, nothing is certain. Money cannot buy love, friendship, or meaning. I have met people with pockets full of cash but hearts weighed down by loneliness. Possessions come and go, but relationships endure: the love of a child, the companionship of a spouse, the presence of a faithful friend. These are treasures no thief can steal.
Third, be prudent. Life is not about storing things but about living each day well. Some things must never be negotiated: the love of your children, time with family, heartfelt conversations with friends, moments of prayer, the embrace of your parents, even rest for your own soul. These are priceless gifts, worth far more than gold.
The parable reminds us that greed isolates, but generosity opens us to God and to others. Let us ask the Lord for wisdom to live freely, to treasure what really matters, and to be “rich before God.”
A beautiful new day
“Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry”—such will be a very good life, or so we think. But will it not be a very boring life of only eating, drinking, and being merry all day and every day? Does the feeling of satisfaction from hunger differ between that of the rich who feast on a sumptuous banquet and that of the poor who survive on gruel? Or is our thirst quenched more with expensive sparkling mineral water than with ordinary tap water? An employer once remarked to her domestic helper, “Why is it that you don’t have money but you are always happy? And how come that we have money, but we are not happy?”
Life is not only a matter of eating and drinking, or of earning a lot of money and having a big investment and saving for the future. We need a purpose and goals in life for life to be worth living. And what could be better than a life lived for others: for one’s family, and friends, for those in need?
Such a life also makes one healthier and live longer besides making us unaware of the tedious passing of time. Every day that comes is a beautiful new day.